A Rune Factory Christmas
by Mystical Authoress
Summary: A collection of Christmas oneshots for Rune Factory 4. Takes place after the first plot of the game. (I know, the summary sucks, but the fic is a gazillion times better than this, seriously!)
1. Snowed In

**Author note: I do not own Rune Factory 4, nor any of the Christmas songs that have inspired me to write this fic. **

**Knowing that Christmas is coming up, I wanted to write a Christmas fanfic. Well...THIS is the fanfic. It's basically going to be a collection of Christmas oneshots around the Rune Factory 4 characters, taking place after plot 1 of the game. I'm not sure if I could get it complete by Christmas (and I highly doubt it will), but I do hope that you enjoy reading it!**

**Warning: Some violence (Dylas and Doug fighting? Check. XD), spoilers for plot 1 of Rune Factory 4, various pairings (CloricaxVishnal, DylasxDoug, MargaretxForte, FreyxLeon, etc.) **

**Constructive Criticism would be great, and I hope that you read, review and enjoy! Thanks!**

* * *

_**A Rune Factory Christmas**_

* * *

_1. Snowed In_

Summary: After Arthur, Margaret and Porcoline leave the restaurant to go get more supplies for food, Dylas and Doug find themselves snowed in only moments later, and are forced to fend for themselves for the rest of the night...

Characters: Dylas, Doug

* * *

Doug let out a groan as he glanced at the clock. "Where's everybody?" He muttered quietly. "They should be back by now!"

Dylas ignored him, glancing at the clock as well. It had almost been a whole hour since Margaret, Porcoline and Arthur left to go get groceries from the General Store, but they hadn't come back with. Letting out a sigh, the half-horse Guardian figured that he might as well go out-he didn't want to stick around here as long as the midget dwarf was here.

He tried to open the door. It didn't budge.

"What?" He muttered quietly, turning the doorknob as he continued to try opening the door. It _still _didn't budge, and he was starting to get a bit worried. It had been snowing quite a bit since the others left, and-

_Oh no. No, no, no...not now! I don't want to be stuck in here with the midget, damn it!_

Rushing towards a nearby window, he immediately confirmed the worst-case scenario.

The two of them were completely snowed in.

Doug noticed Dylas' panicked expression. "What is it, gelding?" The red-haired dwarf asked, crossing his arms. "Don't tell me you're worried about not eating anything for dinner!"

"It's not that, midget!" Dylas snapped back, pointing at the window. "Look! Do you have holes for eyes?!"

"Wait a sec-" Doug rushed over to the window, only to see the wall of snow in front of the window. "WHAT THE HECK!? ARE WE SNOWED IN!?"

"YES, YOU IDIOT!" Dylas yelled back, glaring at him. "Isn't that _obvious!?"_

_"I don't want to be stuck in here with YOU of all people, pebble brain!"_

_"NEITHER DO I, YOU NAG!"_

Both of them glared at each other, before they remembered-

"Arthur's door-what about through there? Maybe all the snow hasn't piled up against it yet!" Doug suggested. Dylas nodded in agreement, before the two ran out of the restaurant area and into the area where Arthur worked. Doug tried the door, desperate to escape.

It didn't budge, either. Both boys stared, before immediately trying to open all of the windows.

None of them budged, not even a millimetre. All of them were frozen shut by the ice outside.

"You've got to be kidding me! Seriously?" The dwarf muttered. Dylas just kept shaking his head as the worst case scenario dawned upon them.

They were definitely _snowed in._ With _only_ each other as company.

This was not good.

* * *

"I can't believe this happened..."

"Shut up already!" The part-horse waiter muttered, shaking his head. "I'm still in shock, too..."

Doug just glared back at Dylas in response. The two of them were silent for a moment, before Doug spoke up.

"So...uh..." Doug let out a sigh as he heard his stomach rumble a little. "Do you know if there's anything in the fridge we can eat, or did Porcoline eat it all before he and the others left to get groceries?"

Dylas swallowed nervously. "Well," He managed, "Let's hope Porcoline didn't eat everything..." Going into the kitchen, the two opened up the fridge and cupboards to see what they had waiting for them. "Let's see...some old French bread, some cheese, onions.."

"Practically nothing." Doug muttered under his breath, before the former Guardian spoke up again.

"I think I can go French with this."

Doug stared at him awkwardly. "Uh...French? Seriously?" He asked quietly.

"Yeah. I could make onion soup." The other responded, smiling a little. "Nothing grand, but at least it's something. Right?"

The dwarf couldn't help but agree with Dylas on that point. It might not be the best thing ever, but at least it would be something to eat. "I'll cook," Doug offered, grabbing the French bread.

"No." Dylas replied quickly as he snatched the bread back from the other.

Doug was slightly pissed off at this remark. "Why not, gelding!?"

"If you cook, we'll probably end up with ashes, idiot!" The other snapped back, before marching into the kitchen. "Let me do the cooking! If you want to help, just set the table for both of us!"

Doug let himself sulk for a moment, before grabbing spoons to use for the consumption of the soup. Sitting in a chair, he rested his head on the table, praying that he could catch a quick nap before the food was ready.

* * *

_"..ake up! Midget! Wake up already, you idiot!"_

Doug let out a groan as he looked up to see Dylas, sitting across from him with a bowl of onion soup. Doug looked down to see a bowl of onion soup in front of him as well.

"Well?" Dylas spoke, letting out a sigh. "Are you going to try the soup or let it get cold?"

Doug didn't say anything, and instead figured that he might as well try out the soup. Hopefully, he wouldn't get poisoned like the last time Forte tried to make Union Stew...the outcome of that was so terrible that no one wanted to remember it or mention it to anyone in existence. Praying that this wouldn't end up the same way, Doug mentally said a prayer before taking a sip.

"..." The dwarf was speechless.

Dylas just stared at him. "Is it...good?" He asked slowly, unsure if the dwarf approved of his cooking. Even if he did know himself that he was a decent cook, well, he didn't know if dwarves had a different palate than others...

Doug was silent for a moment, taking a deep breath before speaking.

"It's good."

An awkward moment of silence ensued, but then Dylas finally cracked a grin.

"I'm glad you like it." The smile was unlike anything Doug had really seen. It wasn't some smirk that would imply a taunt coming immediately afterwards, nor was it some enraged frown. No, it seemed like a real, genuine smile-and Doug couldn't help but grin at that sight. The dwarf had to admit that real smile from Dylas was definitely something he would rather see more often than anything else-even the flustered looks on his face from nearly being beaten in arm wrestling were nothing compared to this.

"Well, it is good-" Doug nearly forgot for a moment that he despised the waiter sitting across from him- "Good for a horse, anyway."

_ "HEY!"_

Thank goodness that Frey was able to get through the back door of the restaurant in time to stop the two from killing each other.


	2. Winter

_2. Winter_

Summary: Illuminata has a good reason to dislike winter-quite a few, in fact. This year, though, Amber might be able to help her enjoy this particular cold season a bit more than usual.

Characters: Illuminata, Amber

* * *

Winter was the season Illuminata completely disliked, for several reasons. One of them was obvious-no flowers could really grow during winter except for Lamp Grass and Noel Grass, and that wasn't exactly the greatest thing in the world. She'd rather see a Toyherb or a Moondrop during the Spring and Summer seasons, or even Autumn Grass during Autumn. But no, it was winter, and she was stuck with nothing Lamp Grass and Noel Grass. That was not fun.

Another seemed to be more obvious-mysteries would happen all around her the most, but she could never really solve any of them. Either that, or someone else would figure it out first...And that ruined all the fun, too.

What hurt her the most about winter, though, was not the fact that there was less variety of flowers, nor was it the unsolvable mysteries. No...it was her broken heart.

She'd loved someone, long ago. Things seemed perfect back then. Long walks through the town together. The occasional, obviously romantic candlelight dinner. Even some snuggling during the colder days, sharing Relax Tea and other tasty foods with each other.

But then...it all fell down when he suddenly fell ill. It happened occasionally, getting sick-it happened to all people. Illuminata figured that it wouldn't get any worse than maybe some sniffling and some time for sleeping in bed.

It got worse, from vomiting to chills. He eventually was stuck at the Tiny Bandage Clinic as a permanent home. She got so worried-she visited him as much as she could, almost every day of the week, for as long as she could-even past closing time.

And then, the night before Christmas, he died, too tired to fight the disease that stripped him of his health.

She cried so much on Christmas Day. A funeral was held for him-everyone tried their very best to comfort her and they sent her as much Relax Tea and tasty food as possible-and they all tried to stick with her throughout the cold night. She had never felt so alone in her life.

She still felt alone at times, no matter how many mysteries she tried to occupy herself with, no matter how busy she could be at the shop during winter-if she could really call it busy, that is-winter was the time when there wasn't much business. She was Illuminata, though, the great detective, and she wasn't going to let tears show every time during winter. No, she had vowed to be strong-a great detective had to be strong, and a great detective didn't let emotions cloud her thoughts.

The whole 'detective' thing had been something she'd been inspired by when she met her late lover's father, who was an actual detective. She had learned from him some valuable lessons, and Illuminata had been determined to become a great detective someday...at least, until her late lover became deceased. Now, it just seemed like she was going through the motions unconsciously without any thought to what it meant-it just hurt too much to think of it.

"Lumie?"

The 'detective' snapped out of her thoughts, only realized that she was crushing the last photo of her and her late lover in her hand. She did her best to unfold it, straighten it, and put it aside to see Amber walk over to her with a cup of Relax Tea-Illuminata's favourite drink.

"...Thank you." Illuminata managed to say, smiling a bit as she accepted the tea.

Ever since Amber came into her life...things had gotten better for her. Her once empty days were filled with some sort of happiness, joy. Even winter seemed a bit more bearable now. If her heart had truly been suffering from loneliness...then Amber was the cure for it. Illuminata couldn't help but think that mystery was definitely closed to being solved.

Amber smiled, her eyes shining bright with comfort and joy that her friend looked a bit happier.

"Lumie?" Amber sat down beside the detective, pausing for a moment before speaking. "Are you okay?"

Illuminata nodded, putting the cup of tea aside to embrace the younger girl, unable to stop herself from smiling and nearly bursting into tears. "I'm a lot better now, Amber. Thank you."

_Case solved._


	3. Mistletoe

_3. Mistletoe_

Summary: Kiel decides to experiment with a bit of mistletoe-hanging at the Bell Bath (and Beyond) Inn. Unfortunately, said experiment gets him in a bit of trouble when Forte and Margaret come face to face underneath the mistletoe...

Characters: Kiel, Forte, Margaret, Lin Fa, Xiao Pai, Frey, Leon, Dylas, Doug, Arthur, Amber, Illuminata

* * *

_Interesting, _Kiel observed as he watched the fourteenth pair of people kiss under the mistletoe. The mistletoe hadn't been there before-he just thought that it would be fun if he saw what sort of reactions people made from underneath the mistletoe. He convinced Xiao Pai and Lin Fa to put it up, claiming that it would increase the amount of customers if the Bell Bath got a bit more festive.

And...well, it actually worked. A lot more customers came in-not just to see the awesome mistletoe hung up so they could kiss under it, but also to use the baths. A win-win situation, for both Kiel and the Bell Bath people.

"Oh. Mistletoe. I didn't know that they hung that up here..."

Kiel blinked out of his thoughts as he saw the former Dragon Priest standing under the mistletoe with none other than the Princess Frey. The two had started dating each other recently, and although Leon claimed that he had no plans to get married, Kiel could easily see wedding bells for them in the future.

"Oh..." Frey looked up to see the mistletoe, blushing a little. "Y-you know about it?"

"Yeah. Mistletoe totally existed back where I came from." Leon nodded once, smiling a bit. "People standing underneath this thing have to kiss, right?" Before Frey could even say a word, Leon leaned forwards and kissed her. The other customers in the lobby started cheering and clapping for them, and Kiel couldn't help but grin, writing down some notes and taking count of exactly how many types of reactions had occured.

_Screaming and running away as the other tried to kiss them: 1 _(This was all thanks to Dylas, who couldn't really bear the pressure of everyone watching them, but Kiel just _knew _there was something between them)

_Kissing (on the lips): 20_

_Kissing (on the cheek): 14_

_Hug: 5 _(Amber didn't even realize that _kissing _usually occurred underneath the mistletoe, not hugging, but Kiel let Amber hug him anyway.)

_Awkward staring at each other: 33 _(This even happened once with Arthur and Illuminata-and then the detective went and started raving about trying to find the 'culprit' that 'suspiciously placed this item in the inn.')

"M-meg?"

"Yeah?"

Kiel looked up again to see-

_his sister Forte and her girlfriend Margaret standing underneath the mistletoe._

Uh oh. This didn't look good. Forte might even figure out that this was one of his little shenanigans that he put on. But then again...

"Um...that's a mistletoe, right?" Forte asked awkwardly, looking up and staring.

"Uh...yeah.." Margaret blushed, the light red obviously showing on her face. "So, um, well..."

"Erm..."

The two awkwardly stared at each other in silence, but then Leon thought he'd just nudge them a little.

"So? Are you going to kiss?" The former priest asked.

"Sh-shut up!" The two girls responded, still blushing.

"Come on, it's mistletoe. It's tradition. You're not scared of tradition, are you?"

Forte nearly blew a fuse here, but instead she figured she would go attack Leon later and just kiss Margaret right now.

The crowd of customers let out an even louder cheer as the two girls kissed, and even Kiel couldn't help but applaud the sight a little bit. It was fun to tease his sister about _love and things like that, _but it was even rarer to ever really see her with Margaret-it was like he could never find them on a date, no matter how much he searched. It only proved even more how shy Forte was about the whole relationship thing, but somehow those two managed.

"So _you're _the criminal!" Kiel turned to see Illuminata, holding his notebook in her hands. "Now, care to tell me why you put it up there?"

"Uh..." Kiel felt all eyes on him, and he figured now was a good time to run. "Oh, look at the time! I need to get going-BYE!"

"GET BACK HERE!" Forte, Margaret and Illuminata shouted. Kiel took a moment to swallow a gulp of air, before running at full speed.


	4. The Hot Chocolate Problem

_4. The Hot Chocolate Problem_

Summary: When Vishnal finds Clorica sleeping on the ground outside on a cold winter's day, he does what needs to get done-get her inside the castle and get her warmed up. And in order to get warmed up, he figures that Hot Chocolate should work. The problem: As we all know, Vishnal can't cook anything.

Characters: Clorica, Vishnal, Volkanon

* * *

Vishnal let out a sigh as he headed out of the general store and towards the castle. _Goodness, _he thought as he pulled his coat a bit more tightly around him, _it's freezing outside. _He felt bad for whoever had to run around outside in the cold-himself included-because today was just absolutely _freezing _in comparison to the past few days. It was supposed to be hailing tonight, as far as he remembered, and it was good that he got all the errands done for now. Maybe he could make himself some Hot Chocolate (or at least, try to)...

The next thing he realized, as soon as he entered the courtyard, was that there was snow, resting itself on an unconscious Clorica lying on the ground.

"AAAAHHH! CLORICA!" He immediately rushed over to her, nearly dropping the groceries in the process. "Clorcia, speak to me!" He shouted, trying to shake her. "Breathe! Are you-"

He then heard the sound of snoring.

"Oh." He managed to say after an awkward moment of silence. Clorica seemed alright for the most part, but...well, he couldn't just leave her out in the cold, right?

He could _totally_ carry her and the groceries all at once into the castle, right?

...Nope.

_"AAAAAAHHHHH! THE GROCERIES!"_

_Crack._

_"THE EGGS! VOLKANON IS GOING TO KILL ME IF HE SEES THIS MESS!_"

These cries of anguish drew the tourists' attention towards him, and Vishnal (completely red in the face from embarrassment by now) did his best not to make eye contact with any of them as he carried Clorica and the remaining intact groceries into the castle.

* * *

Vishnal let out a sigh of relief as he seated the still-sleeping Clorica onto a chair, and put the groceries in the kitchen area of the servants' living space. Glancing at her quietly, he figured that she must have been sleeping for quite a while outside if there was snow all over her. Which meant that she must get warmed up, somehow.

Going into her bedroom, he pulled her blanket off her bed, dragging it back with him towards the kitchen and draping it over her. He had a feeling that it probably wouldn't enough, so he decided to let her borrow his blanket-and Volkanon's blanket, too. He was sure the head butler wouldn't mind his blanket being borrowed to help warm up a fellow butler. Right?

Vishnal wasn't convinced that three blankets were enough to help Clorica warm up. After all, who knows how long she was asleep outside? Maybe he could try to make something warm for her, but what? What would be simple enough for him to create? Hot Chocolate, perhaps?

He couldn't remember if there was anything needed for Hot Chocolate besides Chocolate-was there anything really neeed? Maybe Hot Milk? And what did one use to make Hot Chocolate-was it supposed to be a pot or a steamer?

Getting all the (hopefully necessary) ingredients and the (hopefully needed) appliances, he figured he might as well try to make Hot Chocolate. What could go wrong with something so simple?

* * *

_"AAAAAHHHHH! FIRE! FIRE!" _

Volkanon started running towards the castle as soon as he heard the word 'fire.' Either the castle was REALLY on fire, or it meant that Vishnal had burnt something in a hopeless attempt to cook.

"What is going-fire!" The aging butler quickly rushed into the kitchen section, where the pot was literally shooting out flames. "Vishnal, what did you do now!?"

"I'm sorry, Volkanon!" The young bulter-in-training squeaked as Volkanon turned off the oven and slammed the lid down on the pot in an attempt to destroy the fire. "I was trying to make Hot Chocolate for Clorcia because she fell asleep outside and I saw her outside while I was coming back with groceries I needed to warm her up otherwise she'd get pneumonia or something and-"

"Pardon?" Volkanon looked a bit surprised. "Let me try to get this straight. You were on the way back here at the castle when you found Clorica unconscious. You tried to drag her into the castle as well as the groceries at the same time, hence the mess I see on the floor outside consisting of broken eggs-"

_Shoot...so he did notice that.. _Vishnal couldn't help but cringe a bit as Volkanon mentioned it.

"And then, you grabbed all of our blankets to smother her with in an attempt to keep her warm, and you decided to try to make Hot Chocolate for her so that she could get even warmer. Is all of this correct?"

"Er..." The butler-in-training swallowed nervously, before nodding. "Yes..."

Before either butler could speak, Clorica finally woke up.

"Vishnal...?" She trailed off sleepily as she pushed the covers off her and rubbed her eyes with both hands. "Why do I smell burning? Did you try to cook again?" Blinking a few times, she eventually realized the presence of not just Vishnal, but Volkanon as well. "Oh. Hello..."

The aging butler let out a sigh. "Clorica, please try to not fall asleep outside in the cold during work-it would be especially damaging to your health."

Clorica just nodded in response.

"And as for you, Vishnal-" Volkanon turned towards the butler-in-training, who flinched, ready for a lecture if needed. "It's good for you to come quickly to help those in need, as you have demonstrated, but please try to be more careful with carrying things-especially if it's one person and all of the groceries at the same time. If needed, you could have taken two trips to do so."

"Yes!" The young training butler responded, nodding once. "I'll remember that from now on."

"Alright-" Volkanon glanced at the ruined Hot Chocolate mess, and then at the other two in the room. "You both clean up this mess. I'll go get the eggs. I think you both have caused enough trouble for today..."

As the elderly butler walked out of the room, Vishnal just let out a sigh, turning towards Clorica. "I'm sorry.." He apologized quietly. "I just thought that I could finally be able to cook something that was edible and could warm you up during winter..."

Clorica just smiled a bit. "It's okay." She responded, nodding once. "I'm glad that you were so thoughtful to bring me inside the castle. Thank you, Vishnal!"

The butler-in-training blushed a bit, stammering out a 'You're welcome,' before helping her with the dishes.


End file.
